4 Proven Steps to Starting The Blog of Your Dreams

This is a guest post by Meg Konovska. She is an artist, designer, and blogger.

There you are! You want to start a blog, and you are so inspired about it! You have this warm fuzzy feeling, the happy fluttering of butterflies going on the inside of you thinking about it. However, there is one thing that’s hindering you from starting a blog… you don’t want just any blog – you want the blog of your dreams! This is why you have procrastinated for ages, daydreaming of “one day” when you will finally have your blog.

Wait no further! You can set up the blog of your dreams in 4 proven steps!

Overview:

Starting a blog means you have to DREAM: Let your dreams show you where you want to go.

Starting a blog requires a MISSION: Your WAY needs a WHY.

Starting a blog takes COMMITMENT: No excuses, no giving up, do whatever it takes!

Starting a blog takes ACTION: Nothing will come to you unless you do something to achieve it.

Step 1: Dream.

This is the first and most fundamental step of your journey. Before starting any journey you need to know where you want to go.

Ask yourself a few key questions;

What does your dream blog look like? Is it large or is it small?

What color scheme is it? Does it have pictures?

Is it personal, fashion, educational, business, or other?

Do you have a specific blogger whom you admire?

Take your time to get as clear as possible. You now have a vision of what you want to achieve.

Step 2: Mission.

This is your motivation, or as personal development expert John Assaraf puts it – Motive for Action. These are the reasons WHY you will keep moving along the way.

That’s okay, as long as you know you are addressing them. Once you have a specific audience in mind, you can easily adopt a writing style which is definite and clear, helps you pass along your message and is very likely to appeal to many more people. This is a key step to building comments, the vital spark of any blog.

Step 3: Commitment

Just like with any other goal, when starting a blog, you need to ask yourself one simple question: Are you interested, or are you committed?

John Assaraf recognizes it as the question to transform his life at 19. He explains the difference:

“If you are interested, you will do what is convenient. You will make up excuses, and you will give up at the first challenge. If you are committed, you will do whatever it takes.” (while, of course, keeping it legal)

Imagine Frodo’s journey (Lord of the Rings), had he not committed to reach Mordor and destroy the Ring! He could settle in Rivindell and spend a lifetime of bliss with the Elves. Or he could succumb to the seduction of the Ring. Or even never leave Hobbiton. However, he did commit, and as a result we have the glorious adventure documented in the book by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Once you are committed, you will find it easier to think of the ways how you can do something, rather than making up reasons why you can’t.

Eliminating excuses: Time, money and family are the top 3 socially accepted excuses.

But, seriously, are you telling me that you are doing ONLY necessary tasks 100% of your time? No TV, no social media, no e-mail checking, no other distractions?

Couldn’t you ask your family to leave you undisturbed for 1 hour a day? Your closest people quite often are willing to cooperate; you just need to ask. Don’t be the one giving yourself a “No” before even asking!

Other excuses might have their roots in your subconscious mind and are known as self-limiting beliefs. Those include all sorts of not good/smart /young/old/ fill-in-the-blank enough. In moments of doubt just think of all inspiring people who managed to beat the odds! Have you heard of world-famous speaker Nick Vujicic who was born with no arms AND no legs? What is your excuse?

Step 4: Action.

Back to the title! How to START the blog of your dreams, right?

OK, here’s the thing:

Just start!

To achieve any goal, you need the mindset, the skill set AND the action set. Nothing will come to you unless you actually DO something to achieve it.

“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.” – Richard Bach

Here’s an interesting fact. The word satisfaction comes from Latin (satisfacere ‘content’). If you look closely, you will notice it consists of satis and action. You might be intrigued to find out that “satis” is… the Latin word for enough. In other words, Satisfaction comes through enough action.

Flexibility: Here’s the irony to it: so far we’ve been talking how important it is to be clear on What, Why and How, and yet… You must know they are most certainly to change along the way. Be prepared to be flexible on all previous steps!

Things do not always happen according to plan. But once you have a plan and you declare your intentions, opportunities and people start to show up. Obstacles start to pop up. It is not always going to be rainbows and Unicorns. You will face disappointments, frustrations and compromises.

You might not even have a clear idea at the moment you are starting. And that’s fine! “You need to trust that somehow the dots are going to connect along the way”, as Steve Jobs said. Furthermore, “You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards”. Steve Jobs commencement speech 2005

Consistency: Be patient! Rome wasn’t built in a day. There is even such a song!

Blogging is not the place for instant gratification. It takes dedication, patience and time. Even baby steps take you closer to your destination. Small steps accumulate and it is not before you turn back until you realize how far you’ve gone.

Fun: Remember, blogging is a journey, not a destination! You can only walk the walk if you enjoy it. Success comes to those who do what they do not because they ‘have to‘ but because they want to.

Go on! Relax and follow your butterflies! They will lead you to starting your dream blog.

I’m a professional artist, blogger, creative, dreamer, and enthusiast. I love family, travelling, and chocolate. I explore the creative process and the fascinating journey behind the scenes on my website at www.justhowcoolisthat.com. Find out more about my creative work on my Facebook page at Meg Konovska Art and Design.

7 Responses to "4 Proven Steps to Starting The Blog of Your Dreams"

Meg, great points in this post about starting the blog of your dreams! I like how you wrote this reminder for us to have fun (so true we need to enjoy the process) in #4 “Remember, blogging is a journey, not a destination! You can only walk the walk if you enjoy it. Success comes to those who do what they do not because they ‘have to‘ but because they want to.” Keep inspiring others with your writing! 😀

You need passion when you start a long term project like a blog. But it’s not enough. You need a path to follow – one that will keep you on course when you get discouraged, tired, or bored. And you’ve just given us one!

These 4 steps should give any serious blogger an excellent start. Thanks, Meg!

Wow, thank you so much, Frank! 🙂 I truly hope this is to give inspiration to more people to actually DO something instead of just wishing, hoping and praying. These are all great things, however you cannot rely only on them if you want real tangible results. There is a saying in Bulgaria “Help yourself so that God helps you too!”.

About DearBlogger

DearBlogger is a free WordPress resource and community geared towards providing you free and fast advice to build a better blog. DearBlogger was founded in September 2012 in Manhattan by Greg Narayan. Our mission on this site is to provide clearer answers than what's out there currently, and make blogging, advertising, online marketing, web design, eCommerce, and any kind of website creation mainly using WordPress easier for beginners.